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MONTREAL -- There was at least one tight battle in Rachel Homans 10 straight victories at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Homan and her Canada rink from Ottawa had to fight back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton 7-6 on Thursday afternoon at the Maurice Richard Arena. Then the Homan rink posted an 8-5 victory over Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-7) in an evening match to secure first place in the round robin portion of the tournament. "Its good to have a game like that," Homan said of her win over Saskatchewan (8-2). "All the time, every day, all week long would be tough, but it was a great battle by both teams." Homan mused this week about her chances to go undefeated in the Scotties, which hasnt been done since Linda Moore in 1985. Jennifer Jones, now competing for Canada at the Winter Olympics, went undefeated in the round robin last year in Kingston, Ont., but then was beaten by Homan in the final. She has one round robin game left Friday against New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (6-4), who saw her playoff hopes dashed when Albertas Val Sweeting (8-3) scored three in the ninth and then stole one in the 10th to defeat Manitobas Chelsea Carey (8-2) 7-4. Sweeting clinched a playoff spot and ensured no tiebreaker games would be needed. Carey had a chance at a big score in the 10th, but her angle raise just failed to dislodge Sweetings shot stone. Carey needs a win over P.E.I.s Kim Dolan (3-7) on Friday to finish second and play Homan in the first versus second playoff game on Friday night. The loser of that game plays the winner of the third-versus-fourth game in the semifinal on Saturday. The bronze medal game and the final are on Sunday. Lawton, who lost to Manitoba in the round robin, is in third place. She has a game left against Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-9). Roars went up from the 2,415 spectators at the evening draw as Quebecs Allison Ross (2-9) ended her tournament with a 5-3 win over Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-7). Flaxey plays Nova Scotias Heather Smith (3-7) on Friday. Going into the Saskatchewan game, Homans rink had outscored eight opponents by a combined 71-30 and had not had to play a full 10 ends. Some wondered if the one-sided wins would leave her vulnerable in the playoffs because she had yet to make any shots under pressure. She answered that with solid play in a close match, although one in which Saskatchewans shot making faltered in the second half. "That wasnt our strongest game as a team," said Lawton. "We can pick it up. "Rachels team played great and put pressure on us. We can finetune a few of those shots and make them better." Lawton said the fact that her squad didnt have its A-game gives her hope if she ends up meeting Homan again in the playoffs. "I know we can play better and well come out and push them even more," she said. "We had the lead and played a strong first half, but in the second half we werent as strong and that showed on the scoreboard." Homan wrecked on a guard to let Lawton score three in the second end. Canada got two back in the third and another two in the seventh to make it 5-5. It was Lawtons turn to miss in the eighth with a draw that went a little long to give Homan her first lead with a steal of one. Lawton tied it in the ninth, but Homan had the hammer in the final end. She still hasnt had to throw a 10th-end last rock because Lawtons final steal attempt fell just short. Carey clinched a playoff spot in the afternoon with a 9-8 win over Flaxey on a point in an extra end. "Thats step one -- making the playoffs," said Carey. "If Im in the playoffs, Im a happy camper." Crawford downed Koltun 5-4 and Dolan beat Smith 7-5. Flaxey started the Scotties 1-5, but emerged as a spoiler Wednesday with victories over Alberta and the Yukon. She gave Carey a scare with a three in the sixth and another two in the eighth for a 7-5 lead. But Carey rallied with three in the ninth and held Flaxey to one in the 10th to force an extra end. In the morning draw, Sweeting earned a 10-3 win over Ross. Ross opened with the hammer but Sweeting had steals of two, three and two points over the first three ends for a commanding 7-0 lead before Quebec scored one in the fourth. The other early game saw B.C.s Kesa Van Osch claim a 7-3 victory over Strong. Discount Nike Vapormax . -- Marty Havlat scored three goals for the first time in nearly nine years, and the San Jose Sharks prevented Colorado from clinching the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche on Friday night. Wholesale Nike Vapormax . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. http://www.cheapvapormax.us/ .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103. Wholesale Nike Vapormax Free Shipping . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home.CLEVELAND -- Billy Cundiff didnt make Browns fans forget kicker Phil Dawson. However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1.02 million contract with the Browns. Cundiff was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent last week, but Cleveland locked him up for another year. After the Browns front office allowed the popular Dawson, a Pro Bowler the previous season, to leave and sign with San Francisco last year, Cundiff made 21 of 26 field-goal attempts and 32 extra points in 16 games. Cundiff also set a franchise record with 42 touchbacks. Of Cundiffs 62 kickoffs, the oppoosing team started at or inside their own 20-year line 53 times.dddddddddddd The 33-year-old Cundiff, who began his NFL career with Dallas in 2002, made the Pro Bowl with Baltimore in 2010. He kicked in five games for the Browns in 2009 and has also played for New Orleans and Washington. He was in training camp with the New York Jets last summer before he was waived on Aug. 28. The Browns signed him Sept. 3 and he was able to adequately fill in for Dawson, who had kicked for Cleveland since the franchises expansion rebirth in 1999 and holds most of the clubs kicking records. During his pro career, Cundiff has converted 76 per cent (122 of 160) of his field-goal attempts. ' ' '